Using God’s name to try to justify violence and murder is “blasphemy,” Pope Francis said on Nov. 15, speaking about the terrorist attacks in Paris. “Such barbarity leaves us dismayed and we ask ourselves how the human heart can plan and carry out such horrible events,”

A “seismic shift in demographics” in both society and the U.S. Catholic Church in the coming decades will create a church that is far less white, the Rev. Bryan Massingale told an audience in New Orleans on Nov. 6. The church will be unprepared to deal with that reality, he continued, un

The U.S. church still stands ready to help the victims of sexual abuse by members of the Catholic clergy, according to Bishop Edward J. Burns of Juneau, Alaska, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Child and Youth Protection. “Victims of abuse have helped us see the errors of the p

Pope Francis has long urged Catholics to welcome refugees, saying the world is currently suffering from a "globalization of indifference," ignoring those who cry out for mercy. On Saturday, as a precursor to the Holy Year of Mercy to launch on 8 December, the Pope will formally recognize and pledge

Drawing on five decades of dialogue, the Catholic and Lutheran churches together have issued “Declaration on the Way: Church, Ministry and Eucharist.” It includes 32 statements of agreement describing points of convergence on church, ministry and the Eucharist. It also notes the differen

After a deadly outbreak of violence around his parish in the Central African Republic’s capital of Bangui, Moses Otii Alir, a Comboni priest, expressed the hope that Pope Francis’ planned visit would open people’s hearts to God’s love and “renew the face of this beautif

U.S. Supreme Court justices said on Nov. 6 they will hear seven pending appeals in lawsuits brought by several Catholic and other faith-based entities against the Obama administration’s contraceptive mandate. Among the plaintiffs are the Little Sisters of the Poor, the Archdiocese of Washingto

On Nov. 3 Cardinal Peter Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, gave the keynote address at Santa Clara University’s two day conference on “Laudato Si’”: “Our Future on a Shared Planet: Silicon Valley in Conversation with the Envir

"The Bible: A Book for the Family" is this year’s theme for Bible Week, building on the Synod of Bishops on the Family and Pope Francis's visit to Philadelphia for the World Meeting of Families.

China’s government, after enforcing a one-child policy since 1980 to combat a population that appeared to be growing out of control, announced on Oct. 29 that it will now allow families to have a total of two children. The policy has caused significant demographic issues—there are 116 to